Flight schools are finding it hard to retain their instructor ranks because airlines are hiring away their staff, a government study reported this week. At the same time, flight schools find it challenging to recruit new students, due to the high cost of training, which can often exceed $50,000, on top of tuition. The U.S. Government Accountability Office said it undertook the study to address concerns about the supply of airline pilots. In response to these challenges, schools have raised instructor pay, and airlines have offered tuition reimbursement, the GAO found. Also, the federal Transportation Department has launched an initiative to assess the level of interest among veterans in becoming pilots, and to examine strategies for employing them in pilot jobs.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/gao-reports-on-pilot-supply-issues